Heidelberg West Police Station

I rise to correct the record in relation to the West Heidelberg police station and comments made by the Chief Commissioner of Police, Ken Lay, on Jon Faine’s 774 ABC morning program on 27 August. Caller Graham in Macleod rang in and said:

I know that you have reasons for shutting down police stations, but I was wondering if you could complete the job by taking down all the signs in the district that still point to that closed police station.

Chief Commissioner Lay said:

Where are you talking about, Graham?

Graham replied:

West Heidelberg.

Chief Commissioner Lay said:

Yeah. Look, I’ll have a look at that for you. We haven’t had that as a police station for, oh, it would be 20 or 30 years, wouldn’t it? It would be a long time.

Graham replied:

Oh, I don’t think so, no. I actually had to go there myself. I didn’t know it was closed, and you just get greeted with an intercom on the door, but it still looks like a functioning police station. All the signs and everything are up.

Chief Commissioner Lay said:

Yeah. We’ll have some people in there, Graham. Can I have a look at that for you, and we’ll fix that for you pretty smartly.

On 17 May 2012 Victoria Police’s Dean Stevenson, superintendent and divisional commander of the North West metro region, who now works for the chief commissioner, said in a letter to me:

Thank you for your correspondence relating to the issue of the emergency call system and directional signage at Heidelberg West police station.
With regard to the directional signage, as you are aware the Heidelberg West police station is currently under review, and until a decision is made as to its future, the directional signage will remain in place.

What is happening with that review? Why does the chief commissioner not know that a review is underway, that the police station has been open and has now been closed by this government? He should get his facts right.